The Influence of Selected Socio-Economic Factors on Consumer Awareness

The influence of selected socioeconomic factors on the consumer awareness of women was investigated. An instrument was developed to measure the consumer awareness of individuals. The three areas assessed were awareness of existing problems in the marketplace, awareness of laws that control these problems and sources of help for the consumer when she encounters these problems. A profile of a woman with low consumer awareness was constructed from the results of the data collected In the study. She will have an annual income of less than $8,000; she will have a high school education or less; her husband will be employed in sales, clerical or managerial work; her husband will be 40 or older and they will have no children living at home. The results of the study indicate that a ll women need assistance in be coming more aware of existing consumer protection laws and of sources of help with consumer problems. All women were more aware of possibilities of where to go for help than of what protection the law provides

The Assessment of Consumer Awareness of Adults

The assessment of consumer awareness is important to : l) identify awareness needs of adults, 2) design programs to meet those needs, and 3) assess changes in consumer awareness as a result of participation in such programs. A search of the literature failed to identify an instrument using recall rather than recognition to assess adult consumer awareness of sources of product/service information, existing consumer protection laws, and possible channels of recourse. The purpose of this research was to develop a reliable and valid instrument to measure the consumer awareness of adults. The test development study involved 32 respondents from one pre-existing adult group in Northern California, and the construct validation study involved 168 respondents from ten other groups. The complete Test of Consumer Awareness for Adults (TCAA) includes twenty-eight mini-case studies and requires 84 responses . Each mini-case is based on one or more of the 30 consumer problems identified by a national panel of fifteen consumer educators and advocates as being most troublesome to consumers. Respondents were asked to list sources of product/ service information, tell how consumers are protected by law, and identify local channels of consumer recourse for each mini-case. Multiple matrix sampling was used to form four sub-tests, with seven mini- c as e s and 21 responses each, to avoid problems of examinee fatigue and hostility , and t o reduce the time required to administer the test. No significant difference was found between m e an scores on the complete test and estimated total mean scores based on sub-test scores. Two reliability coefficients w ere computed. A measure of internal consistency produced a coefficient alpha of. 95, and a test-retest, over four weeks, with alternate test forms produced a Pearson r correlation coefficient of .73. Information, law, and recourse scores were summed to produce total scores. Low total scores were predominant. From a possible total score of 21, the mean score was 6. 33. Five respondents scored 15 or higher (two standard deviations above the mean), while 94 respondents scored 6 or less. Nine hypotheses were tested for evidence of a relationship between scores on the TCAA and: 1. Having taken a consumer education class; 2. Level of education attained; 3. Level of annual income; 4. Occupation; S. Having filed a consumer complaint; 6. Marital status; 7. Length of time married; 8. Current labor force attachment of women; 9. Population level of place of residence. Analysis o f variance was used to determine whether the re was a significant difference in mean consumer awareness scores when scores were categorized into appropriate subgroups for each variable. There were significant differences (p \u3c .01) in mean consumer awareness scores among the subgroups for four variables: 1. Having taken a consumer education class; 2. Level of education attained; 3 . Current labor force attachment of women; 4. Population level of place of residence. Each student in a university consumer course investigated three consumer problems so that the influence of teaching method on consumer awareness scores could be evaluated. With the TCAA used as a pretest and posttest, a statistically significant increase in the group\u27s mean score was noted. Students in the class participating in the investigations had significantly higher TCAA scores than those students in a similar class which had not participated in the investigations . The TCAA is unique among available instruments in that it relies on recall rather than recognition to assess consumer awareness. It is posited that the reliance on recall makes the test a closer approximation of consumer behavior in an actual marketplace situation than a test that only requires a respondent to recognize the correct solution to a problem

Guidelines for the use of flow cytometry and cell sorting in immunological studies

International audienceThe classical model of hematopoiesis established in the mouse postulates that lymphoid cells originate from a founder population of common lymphoid progenitors. Here, using a modeling approach in humanized mice, we showed that human lymphoid development stemmed from distinct populations of CD127(-) and CD127(+) early lymphoid progenitors (ELPs). Combining molecular analyses with in vitro and in vivo functional assays, we demonstrated that CD127(-) and CD127(+) ELPs emerged independently from lympho-mono-dendritic progenitors, responded differently to Notch1 signals, underwent divergent modes of lineage restriction, and displayed both common and specific differentiation potentials. Whereas CD127(-) ELPs comprised precursors of T cells, marginal zone B cells, and natural killer (NK) and innate lymphoid cells (ILCs), CD127(+) ELPs supported production of all NK cell, ILC, and B cell populations but lacked T potential. On the basis of these results, we propose a "two-family" model of human lymphoid development that differs from the prevailing model of hematopoiesis

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field